Time to try to get published again. Wish me luck.

 

Now that I am retired, I should have all of the time in the world to do more writing and trying to get published. Technically I have had my writing before the public. First as a writer on the Eureka High Redwood Bark. Then I sent letters to the editors of the Times Standard, Arcata Eye, Press Democrat and the San Francisco Chronical about politics and I wrote sport updates for Sports Editors locally for years. I self-published a softball newsletter that some people give me grief over the years. I wrote a biblical analysis of the New Testament Bible in the 80's that took me years to complete.  90's I wrote a Fiction Novel and actually got paid to write up Safe Operating Procedures at the pulp mill. I wrote training manuals for Union Organizers in the 2000s as well working on non-fictional story about leading the workers of Dart Container in their successful union organizing drive in 2004. I wrote a Childs Book inspired by my son Jordan that I tried to get published with no luck. I am currently working on a non-fictional novel about my father's work as legal counsel with the Mafia. My last employment with the Construction Industry Force Account Council I wrote almost daily about the progress of my work that was published monthly. 

I have decided Prioritize and revisit the Science Fiction novel I wrote and see if I can get that published. Then the Child Book published. After that I will work on the Non-Fictional novels. Hopefully i can finish all in this year. Wish me luck! 

Mikes Burgers or Bust!

Is there any place in Humboldt that compares to Mikes Burgers? What I am looking for is the greasy equal for fries and chili burger or hotdogs. Maybe Surfside? Double AA makes a good one. When I come back to Humboldt this summer to visit I want something that reminds me of the garlic fries! 

Weaverville 4th of July tourney is alive and kicking! Memorial for Perry Price!

Robin and I hosted this tournament for many years. I encouraged the softballers in Weaverville to take it over and it has been in a yearly transition. This year they are going full blast and are honoring Perry Price who helped me host this tournament. We also played in it many times with James Hill Trucking. Hope this turns out to be a success and everyone has fun!

 

Believe it or not, there were about 50 eating places that were union in Humboldt County in 1976!

 I was going through some of my old newspapers and ran across the Redwood Empire Labor Journal for November 11, 1976 and found this plead to Patronize these eating establishments. I was working at Bazar at the time and was a retail clerk and belonged to the union! I was part of the International Wood Workers in the late 70's and then Part of the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers Local 49 from 1980 until the Pulp Mill closed. Shocking there is now under 10% union participation even though over 71% of workers polled approve of unions!

Psst! I moved from Humboldt.

Been a few months now, but Robin and I have settled into Citrus Heights. I am still working remotely, so I am still working for the Construction Industry Force Account Council. I am actually playing softball down here and play for the Ravens in Sacramento and New Dawn Awning in Placer County. I am no longer President of any softball leagues and I am not currently an elected official in any capacity. Not to say i might not in the future. I do miss Humboldt and all of my friends there, but I am meeting all sorts of new people here. Just thought I would update. 

Random Draw for Election Candidates for 2022 gives 5% head start to Bergel, Doss and Karen Paz Dominguez

Some don't know this, but a random draw by the California Secretary of State determines candidates placement on the ballot. This was very important in past close elections. So who has the head start this year? In the 4th District Supervisor race, Kim Bergel will be first, Natalie Arroyo second and Mike Newman 3rd. In the 5th District, Larry Doss has the jump on Steve Madrone by being placed 1st. In the A/C race Karen Paz Dominguez will be 1st if Evans is off the ballot with Carol Dillingham number 2. 

 

RIP Perry Price. A Softball interview.

 Here is a video of an interview I did with Perry Price at the 1989 USSSA Championships. 64 teams gathered that had made it through qualifying rounds to be the best of the best. We had Jimmy Rodgers (RF), Doug Weatherbee 3B, Barry Oliver RCF, Otis Kane 1st, Jeff Tehan LCF, Ronnie Webb LF, Roland West C, Mike SS, Bob Sprague 2B and yours truly pitching. Perry maneuvered us through constant banter. We ended up in 3rd place in the state with Ronnie Webb and Roland West making the all state team. We still are the highest placing team from Humboldt in a USSSA state championship. 

Perry was more than a friend to me, he was a mentor on many facets of life. He was passionate in his beliefs and never sugarcoated anything. He was a purchasing agent for the City of Eureka and was able to help me understand City agency workings and how politics work hands on. Had many memorable times hanging out in Redding, Grants Pass, Medford, Sacramento and Reno. Robin and I hung out with Perry and Linda clubbing and going to shows.  

Perry also found obscure softball tournaments for James Hill to play in. Columbus Tournament in Reno, Los Molinas Invitational, Central Valley Tournament and Sacramento Tournaments. Perry also was the only manager who did not care who we played first game. He figured we had to beat them sometime! (That didn't go so good one time where we were matched up with Team Demarini!) We won at every level. Even when we were all older and in our last year as James Hill we won the Eureka A league over Latner's to close out a great run. We then won the last big Grants Pass end of the year tournament before it morphed into something else. 

And memories? How about a brawl at Red Bluff Cowboy tournament? Perry had this great idea of us coaching a 3rd grade Hoopster team with his son Brandon and my son Jacob playing together? Perry scared the heck out of the other kids by yelling at Jake and Brandon calling them Knuckleheads. One of the kids I see from that team say they were traumatized and never played again. In the playoffs we were playing Eureka Parks and Recreation Director Dan Molter's team and Perry lost it and was yelling at Laurie Vance, a ref that I actually trained. She gave Perry a technical and when he wouldn't shut up, she called the game. Laurie's boyfriend came down from the stands to let Perry know he was not happy. Perry was ready to go fists........with Jr Albers! I was able to help try to calm things down, but it left everyone at Jacob's Gym something to remember! And there was time he dissed Lester Hayes of the Raiders, was able to score VP passes for Reno Show with all the perks, caused riot at Pop Warner game and the many times he organized BBQ for teams on the road. 

A few years ago he had some type of brain trauma that he ended up recovering from. I went and visited him at rehab home. He recovered and it was like he was new again! This gave him a few more years. But another brain issue finally took him to that great big diamond in the sky.  

Samoasoftball receives Certificate of Special Recognition from U.S. House of Representatives.

 How fortunate am I to live in such a great county. Thank you Jared Huffman for the award! Also congratulations to Jean Caldwell and Ciara Emery for their recognition. This is as good as a buffet with unlimited shrimp and ribs! 

Hey you ! Old Timer! Winter Softball Practice.

I was requested to use the Samoasoftball blog to announce that there is Senior Softball practice and scrimmages at Samoa Field by Cookhouse on Saturdays at 12pm. Unless there is deluge. This will be ongoing all winter. 

Ferndale native Hailey Dolcini throws back to back no hitters in Division 1 play!

 I seen Hailey play when she was at Fortuna and thought she had an unbelievable bat. Yes, she was also un-hit able throwing, but I felt her bat separated her from most. Man, has she come a long way. She threw a no hitter striking out 18 batters and followed that up with a perfect game! She is 11-3 on the season with a ERA of 0.95 which is 17th in the nation. She is second in the nation in shutouts with 8 and 9th in the nation in strikeouts with 151. And this is Division 1 ball with the Fresno State Bulldogs! The big show! And a scholar athlete to boot!  

Del Norte County and Blue Lake open Adult Softball to communities! Hallelujah!

 

The City of Blue Lake is offering our 21st Annual Wood Bat League starting late spring/early summer!  We hope that you will be interested in joining us again!

When:  The league will be played on Sundays for 8 weeks and ending with a seeded, single-elimination tourney. There will be NO games on Memorial Day Weekend. 

Format:  There will be 8 teams in the league; each team will play a double header each Sunday starting at either: 9:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m.  We will end with a seeded, single elimination tournament. Due to COVID 19- umpires will not be used this season. Teams are responsible for coordinating who will umpire within the different teams.

Where:  Clemence Field in sunny Blue Lake.

Rules:  ASA rules will apply with special league rules dictated by the City of Blue Lake.  Games will be umpired by two qualified members that are decided amongst the leagues. Masks must be worn at all times and social distancing must be observed. Players must use their own equipment and spectators are not encouraged. We appreciate your understanding and appreciate you for being a part of keeping our community active during this unprecedented time.

Awards:  The Championship team will receive championship shirts.

Del Norte Parks and Recreation in Crescent City is also hosting League play starting May 10. Call 707-464-7237 for more information.

Isaiah Thomas best player under 5'10" in NBA history? Here is my top (or lowest) 5!

5. Wat Misaka: Maybe the greatest overall athlete on this list. Even in the Japanese Hall of Fame for bowling. 

4. Mugsy Bogues: averaged a double double with over a 10 point average and 10 assists one year.  And he was the shortest player in NBA history at 5’3”.

3. Spud Webb: Won NBA slam dunk contest at 5'6"!

2. Calvin Murphy: actually played defense too, besides being the Houston Rockets 2nd all-time scorer. Most of the 13 years he played there was no 3 pt shots! There could be a good argument for him as #1. 

1. Isaiah Thomas: averages 28.9 points one season and was just a great player for the Kings and Celtics. At 5’9” he plays with a heart of a 6’5”player. Too bad for the hip injury or he would still be one of the top players.  My personal favorite. 

Boy Scout Scout Troop 95 raises the flag in honor of Veterans Day.

I had the honor to be invited and be present this morning for the raising of the flag at the Maritime Museum by Boy Scout Troop 95. I actually was a Boy Scout in the late 60's and Early 70's of Troop 79 in Myrtletown. Remember your Veteran's this Wednesday November 11th. And a thank you to my father Major James Marks and my brothers James, Roy and Micheal for serving our country. And thank you Don Hofacker for the invite!  

Humboldt County loses 229 million dollars in currency through illegal cannabis extraction.

So I read today that the Campaign Against Marijuana planting (CAMP) has eradicated 1.1 Million plants in California. But what does that mean to the economy? That is 4 Billion dollars of currency not in play. And that doesn't even account for the tons of processed weed that was taken during the raids. (And not accounting for asset forfeiture which might double that number!) And half of these totals are from Public lands. In Humboldt County alone the loss to the economy is 229 million! That is cars not purchased, restaurants not used, equipment not bought etc. It does bounce through our economy. And what about the water consumed? Those plants just in Humboldt that were eradicated used 62 million gallons of water. That is 11,018 truck loads. I am not making a social statement here, just pointing out the effects of CAMP. And I can tell you comfortably that I am under estimating the financial effects!    

Here is the candidate Ballot placement for November local elections. First one named has about a 5% head start!

Who are these candidates? If you are not clear, the first one listed is favorite or has 5% head start from being listed first. That is the way many studies show. But for our local elections? We shall see. Here is how the candidates will be listed this November: 

For the 2nd Supervisor district

😯 Bushnell

😯 Fennell

For the 2nd Ward Candidates in Eureka

😯 Shirley

😯 Moulton

😯 Jager-Wentworth

😯 Jackson

For the 4th Ward Candidates in Eureka

😯 Bauer

😯 Tuttle

😯 Owen

😯 Morgan

😯 Welsh

Arcata City Council

😯 Atkin-Salazar

😯 Zapata

😯 Goldstein

😯 Peterson-Jones

😯 Pitino

😯 Schaefer

😯 Matthews

😯 Yeo

😯 White

😯 Winkler

"United we Bargain. Divided we beg!" Labor Day without BBQ is bummer.

 

Blast from the past. No Labor Day picnic this year at Sequoia park. Usually there are hundreds in attendance and lots of food donations for the community. No chance for local labor candidates to stump either.  Another Covid bummer. 

Hey Juan Barnstormers! The strongest foundation in Slow Pitch Softball in Humboldt County History! Greatest of all time?

 

This pic is from 2004 if I am not mistaken. This team has been playing together in one form or another since the 70's! Nowadays they have many sons of the players who have continued the legacy. I have been playing against these guys forever! There is no other team in the county that can claim they have won tournaments in 5 different decades! that's right! 70's, 80's, 90's 00's, 10's. And get this, they were considered one of the favorites to win Blue Lake spring league this year 2020! (It took a pandemic to stop them.) This team is and had been made up of doctors, lawyers, biologists, farmers, teachers and actors. And there is no other team that I have seen that had each opponent's attention every game! "We are playing the Barnstormers today, we have to be on our game! Oh man, they are already here taking batting practice!"  

Has COVID interrupted Freedom Of Speech?

Thank God for Ray Hamill and his reporting Humboldt Sports. I do subscribe to the Time Standard and it amazes me that they are choosing to not update the Legion baseball action. The Eagles are having an wonderful season with lots of intrigue and personalities. And I am just talking about the parents! This is a special group that has been penalized by a virus they can't control. But why the limited press exposure from the TS? Who is making that decision? Just sad. But thank Ray for at least giving us normalcy in our life. 

Humboldt COVID numbers don't look so good anymore. Should we put step on brake or gas pedal?

As of 6/26/20 Cases by Contact        74 or 57.36%

By Travel                                            27 or 20.93%

Community                                        23 or 17.83%

Under Investigation                             5 or 3.88%

Total Tested                                         10,526

Total Tested Positive                           1.23%

Humboldt's Past Guidelines by the Center of Disease Control to move to new phases was 1 positive case per day for every 10,000 people. 

So that target for Humboldt would be 13.6 cases for a two week period.

Humboldt has had 23 cases the last 14 days. That means we should not be phasing in new activities but either slowing down or stopping the phase in process. 

When is Collateral Damage too high of price for greed? Vegas is showing us.

So a few months ago Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman wanted to open Vegas up as a "test" ground for COVID 19. She got her wish as Vegas opened their casinos on May 29th and have been doing robust business. But at what cost? Las Vegas area had the largest spike 6/16/20 in cases at 379 and have decided to slow back their phase in plans. Did not take a genius to see this coming, but Vegas seems ready to sacrifice their workers for the sake of money. But when is the collateral damage not worth it? It is a pity we will find out.